Hopefulness that didn’t exist before: “Assimilation” by Ghost Island

We are here again, happy to bring into your attention the latest release by Phoenix-based post-rock band Ghost Island. The founding member John Romero started releasing music for Ghost Island in 2013. Soon, the group began growing members to perform more robust live performances. In that process, collaborative songwriting captured an amalgamation of emotion, using creeping reverberated guitars, throbbing bass, dark drum washes, and occasional keyboards.

John conceived the concept of Assimilation after a failed suicide attempt following the end of a nearly four-year relationship. The songs became expressive tales taking the listener through the range of emotions that comes with entering and exiting a relationship for a person with clinical depression. Ultimately, the album concludes on a positive note, asserting that it is okay to be different and okay to assimilate into your environment in order to get the human interaction we all need in order to function.

“Assimilation can be considered a minor masterpiece, specially taking into consideration its precise and detailed technicality. Although excessively calm throughout its whole ordeal, there’s a singular vitality within the music, and it’s impossible to be indifferent to it. With complex arrangements and conscious, abundant and methodic melodies, Assimilation is an interesting album, that really evaluates and inserts into a more embracing panorama the sonorous devices of the genre, over a mixture of traditional devotion and modest originality.

Canned Sound :

“The title track breathes like a cool winter breeze. Don’t be mistaken, the song still has its punishing moments, but there’s a hopefulness that didn’t exist before; a hopefulness that was hard-won.